


Instantaneous

by hotoffthefryer



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blank Period (Naruto), Broken Promises, Byakugan, Creepy Orochimaru (Naruto), Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Forgiveness, Gen, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino Friendship, Hate to Love, He has a kid, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, Hokage Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji Lives, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, Love/Hate, Maybe - Freeform, Meddling Kids, Mystery Kids, NaruHina - Freeform, NejiTen - Freeform, No Promises No Lies, Original Character(s), Orochimaru Being an Asshole (Naruto), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Post-War, Pre-Canon, Protective Uchiha Sasuke, SasuSaku - Freeform, Secret Relationship, Sharingan, ShikaTema, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Strong Haruno Sakura, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Team Feels, Team as Family, Uchiha Sasuke & Yamanaka Ino Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha, Ugh when will I stop, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Friend, Warring States Period (Naruto), Yay for NejiTen, kind of, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22142443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotoffthefryer/pseuds/hotoffthefryer
Summary: A lot of things had changed, very quickly, because of the war. Before, during, and after – everything was different. The biggest differences of all? Before Neji died, there was a daughter. And before Sarada, there was a son. After years of silence, Sasuke returns with news that threatens them all, and the Shinobi World would never be the same. AU, Canon-verse; Well-Developed OCs.
Relationships: Akimichi Chouji/Karui, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Original Haruno Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Uchiha Character(s)/Original Character(s), Sai/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Conflict

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This has already been posted on my FF (same handle) but I thought I ought to share it on here, too! The story can be angsty, just FYI. Also! There be OCs, only three you need to worry about so far are Daichi, Bunko, and Jun. Hopefully, their parentage is clear.

Write a poem about yourself in thirty words or less.

So I think about it.

Hard.

And this is what I come up with.

_ Fatherless. _

_ Without a clue. _

_ What would you do _

_ if you could fit into my shoe? _

_. _

I crumble up the paper and start again.

.

.

.

I've brought it up lots of times.

No. Not lots of times. Just once was enough.

Our kitchen is a small square within an even smaller square. Kaa-san can't afford much on her own, but that doesn't stop her from complaining about the size of our apartment. She says that she bought it for herself when she was fifteen with all the money she made from being a kunoichi, or girl ninja. She says that she misses that, too, but wouldn't trade me for the world.

Sad smile.

I was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I noticed her staring out of the window, a sad, sad, sad smile on her face. I'd already adjusted to the standard sad smile. It happened—happens—so often that only me and Naruto-oji can tell the difference between the real happy smile and the fake one. This smile, though, made me want to make her happy. The real happy, for as long as I possibly could.

"What are you staring at, Kaa-san?"

She jumps as if a spider landed on her shoulder. Then, "Nothing. I was just thinking," she pauses in washing the dishes. The suds make funny popping noises in the silence, and then she repeats, almost to herself, "It was nothing."

I wish I can make myself believe that Kaa-san gets lost in thought so easily, deeply, and as often as much as she tries to convince me to.

It would make things—everything—much easier.

.

.

.

I don't even fit into my own shoes.

.

.

.

And the pain is tangible. It's unbelievable. Unimaginable.

But I didn't know—don't know—what was worse.

The excruciating, ripping, pulling, tugging, electrical, burning, hot, tearing feeling erupted underneath and around my eyes. The pain would've made them water if all my tears weren't dried by the singeing heat.

That was bad.

When I, somehow, lifted my heavy lids and a surge of my chakra flooded the Training Fields, I could feel the difference. It was almost terrifying. Everything that had chakra reflected differently in my eyes.

The trees glow a soft, muted green. Birds were a vibrant yellow color. Alive. The whole world was alive.

I blinked quickly three times, trying to ignore the tingling sensation that scorched throughout my skull each time. Every picture looked the same, each detail, maybe with a small difference—chakra moved when someone, something, breathed.

A small grin split across my face.

That was amazing.

My eyes flickered towards the left when a distinct, large, but contained springy green color slipped into my line of sight. I blinked again, adjusting to the chakra so much bigger than that of the trees and birds, and saw the form of my mother.

But her face was unsettling. For once in my life, I didn't find comfort in just the sight of her.

Eyes wide, she was shaking her head back and forth. "No," she said repeatedly, each syllable growing louder and louder until I couldn't mistake it anymore. Her aura exploded in a mass of energy and charged toward the ground, spears of rock shooting upward. I swiftly jumped out of the way, landing on my behind.

"Kaa-san, I—"

She was shaking, chakra returning to its original, contained size with a swooshing sound.

Something about the sudden upward and downward spiraling spikes of power unnerved me; the newfound fact that I could see it and feel it, even know when and where and even how it was going to happen, made me shiver with satisfaction. Something about the way Kaa-san looked at me, though, was foreign. It erased all pride I felt for myself.

She said that she didn't know what took over her.

But, since then, I've never done it again.

Ever.

.

.

.

_ I grow too fast. _

.

.

.

"Sharingan," I repeated slowly, getting used to the feel of the word on my tongue.

As soon as the last syllable left my mouth, I glanced toward Naruto, silently asking if I had said it correctly. My throat went dry in anticipation under the honesty of his eyes, and when a smile split across his face, I followed suit with a grin of my own.

My eyebrows rose in excitement, mouth twitching as I tried to control the wideness of the smile. "Sharingan," I said again, with more confidence. I shot out of my chair, walking around the office, "Sharingan." A laugh exited my mouth before an array of uncontainable hoots.

I sent a surge of chakra to my eyes and awed at the differences in the room with the Sharingan in my eyes. Look at the plants. Look at the little flowers and the baby trees in the pots and vases. Something swells in my chest when I turn to the window, the window that showcased all of Konoha. Look at all the  _ people _ . The ninjas, the civilians—they all live and breathe and move and glow with their own distinct and unique chakra.

All because of my Sharingan.

"You know, Naruto-oji," I say, stopping ahead of Kakashi’s desk, arms spread to both ends. "you look a lot less old with my  _ Sharingan _ ."

Naruto shoots me a look that sends me back into normalcy. I sink back into my seat, folding my hands together professionally. He wasn’t Hokage yet, but I could already tell he’d been practicing his serious face. It takes quite a lot of effort and concentration to dispel the power around my eyes and circuiting throughout my nerves, but I manage this with a straight face. When I opened my eyes again, I knew that the olive green orbs were dancing in excitement.

"So, Sharingan. Does my," I ask, a tiny smirk on my face. “Does my dad have it?”

There's a name for it.

Pride. Knowledge. Vitality. Power. One step closer to finding out who my father is.

Naruto laughed as he turned off Kakashi’s desk lamp. “Now, now, DaiDai. You know the rules.”

He plopped a stack of paperwork into my hands and I followed him out on his heels.

“Is it a kekkei genkai?” I asked excitedly.

Naruto twisted his face. “I dunno,” he feigned. “What do you think?”

“Is it hereditary?”

“Kinda.”

I stumbled a little down the stairs. This crap sure was heavy. 

I blew my bangs out my face then asked another question that I knew would get him.

“Did  _ I _ inherit it?”

The Hokage incumbent gave me that Boss Man glare again and I groaned. I guess I’ll just have to wait until next year. Until then, I was happy to think that I was a mutant.

.

.

Instantaneous

.

Haruno Sakura slid her hands around the warm mug of coffee, raising the red ceramic slowly up to her lips. Her emerald eyes remained trained on the strangely blank face of one of her first best friends. She was trying to decipher the meaning in the uncharacteristic glint in the blonde woman's eyes.

It wasn't often that Ino requested to meet with Sakura, especially on days when they were both scheduled for early shifts at the hospital. The two had, however, reworked their friendship back together, piece by piece, so the request to meet with her wasn't completely odd. What was odd about it was, simply, the urgency in Ino's voice, the importance that she tried to mask with a warm smile and a silly pet name.

Sakura wondered throughout all of the night what this sudden 'Hey, Forehead, let's go get some coffee before work together,' was about, truly. She hardly got any sleep, though that—the unpredictable request for coffee—solely could not be put to blame. There were many reasons why the Haruno lacked in hours of sleep, why she turned to coffee instead of the standard tea.

As she sipped the warm, thick liquid, she decided that if Ino didn't start talking—drinking, eating, or doing anything else  _ besides _ staring at her with that mysteriously masked expression—she was going to leave with the excuse of an early appointment with a civilian. Or maybe a report on the status of the hospital with the Hokage. Perhaps even a visit to her parents' house would get her out of this sticky situation.

Just as Sakura began working out the details of her lie, Ino cleared her throat, all guises falling.

"How's Daichi-kun?" the blonde woman started carefully, finger tracing the rim of her finished coffee cup.

Sakura watched as her blue eyes dodged her own decisively and purposefully. Her eyebrow furrowed slightly in confusion, putting up a shroud of chakra around her mind. She knew that Ino would never intrude, at least not normally, but for some reason, the rosette felt obliged to protect her wary thoughts.

Sakura shrugged lightly, smiling. "He's great."

Ino hummed and stirred the air in her cup with a straw. She swallowed thickly, the familiar taste of her latte turning sour with the flavor of the words she knew she had to say. If she didn't care for Sakura as much as she did, she would easily be able to bring up her concern about her son. However, she understood where Sakura came from. If she was in the same situation, she would be doing the same, if not slightly different, thing.

"That's great," Ino beamed, grin as stunning as always. "He's twelve now?"

"Thirteen," Sakura corrected quickly, absentmindedly. After realizing her misstep, she sipped her coffee and grinned, tilting her head. Feeling the need to fill the empty, awkward silence, she added, "His birthday was at the end of the month."

_ July _ , Ino mentally notes.

She takes a deep breath and flicks her eyes toward her friend, surveying her stature. Her hands gripped the mug tightly, fingers wrapped like vices around the cup. Ino looked at the small bags underneath muted green eyes, smile lines and the beginnings of crow's feet confessing her age.

Was it her age? Ino placed a hand on her head, inhaling the coffee bean smell of the cute café again as she calculated. No, no, it couldn't be age. They were both barely thirty, along with the rest of the Rookie 12. Sakura, beside Naruto, who worked day in and day out in that messily stuffy office of his, was one of the nine who showed signs of aging most predominately. The transition was very swift, instead of gradual, for her, and while many others refused to place two and two together, Ino knew why her friend looked so worn down. 

Stress. It was stress. Sakura worked very hard already, and with the promises she made to everyone aside from her job, she hardly had time for herself. Add to that her son, who was now avidly a part of the ninja world of missions, and the equation was very easy to decipher.

Ino believed strongly that every woman needed at least four to six days in a month to herself—and just to herself, possibly with girlfriends—to rejuvenate. Ino could say confidently that her best friend had not had a 'Sakura Day' in years.

She sighed, pouting lightly as she voiced her concern.

"You worry about him  _ so much _ , Forehead."

The look in Sakura's eyes could break glass.

She placed her mug down carefully, calculatingly, so not as to chip the nice piece. Her eyes defied the calm demeanor that covered her like a blanket, and, though she could not fool Ino, no matter how hard she tried, Sakura smiled maternally.

Fingering a strand of hair behind her ear, she giggled lightly, "Well, he is my son. How can a mother not worry?"

Ino shook her head sharply. "No, Sakura,  _ no _ ," she said, heavy trademark ponytail swinging. "I'm not talking about Daichi."

Sakura inhaled pointedly, lips straightening into a thin line. So she couldn't pretend as if she didn't know whom Ino was speaking of. Even though she wasn't surprised, hearing the words in reality instead of in her mind sent her in a frenzied shock of sorts. She didn't want to talk about this.

She wouldn't.

The rosette gathered her purse and fished for her wallet within the bag. "I have to go, Ino-chan," she said tiredly, the patience she had before long gone. She placed a few Ryo on the table, a small grin on her face, "We should do this again, though."

But she didn't want to do this again, not when she knew Ino was never going to give up on the topic until she fulfilled its purpose. She avoided Ino's eyes as if it were her mission, as if a single glance would send her into flames.

* * *

"Ohayo," Daichi greeted routinely, swishing water through his mouth.

He truly hated bananas, but he couldn't find anything else in the kitchen that morning beside ramen. So, with much spite and attitude, he'd swallowed down three bananas and managed to keep them in his stomach. He glanced toward the garbage can, on the other side of the island, barely visible to his eye. Maybe he  _ should _ scoot it closer, just in case.

Sakura locked the door behind her before returning salutation.

"What time is training?" She asked, sifting through the mail. Bill, bill, bill—a wave of agitation hit her. These past few weeks were not kind to her at the hospital; the peace in the ninja world was nice, but it really hurt her pay. Civilians didn't hurt themselves enough to provide a solid check.

In all honesty, everyone was struggling a lot more than in previous years, and the only common answer between all in the ninja community was the lack of their necessity. While no one would dare ask for the chaos, war, and violence that existed during and even before their childhood to return, the moths flying out wallets and pockets were threatening. Daimyos and other county wealthy wished not to spend big money for small tasks anymore, not as if they could.

Sakura held in a sigh of something akin to self-pity, and walked over to the island, dumping the envelopes with the others in a drawer. She closed it swiftly and pressed her hand into the lock, locking it with a small bit of chakra.

Daichi pretended not to notice the hasty, secretive movements, or the small spike of chakra that bounced throughout the kitchen. He acted as if he did not even notice, forcing down one last portion of cut banana.

The painfully bitter, sweet taste sent the feeling of nausea coursing through his body. He untwisted his water bottle and drained the last bit of water into his throat. It barely masked the taste, but the actions seemed natural enough to make him seem as if he did not know that Sakura was hiding something.

Or, at least he hoped.

Sakura cleared her throat. She folded her arms atop one another, giving Daichi a stare that seemed to translate into  _ Well? I asked a question _ .

The teenager groaned, swallowing another swig of water. "Fifteen minutes ago," he answered honestly. "I'm still waiting for Jun and Bunko; we're supposed to race to the bridge or something like that."

His mother nodded, humming to herself.

Daichi narrowed his eyes slightly, silvery olive eyes turning into slits. Whenever Sakura hummed, she was really trying to distract. Despite the knowledge that he knew he probably was not ever going to find out what his mother was trying to hide from him—or even hide from herself—he wasn't going to stop trying. He twisted and untwisted the cap over his water bottle, watching Sakura.

After many moments of the rosette staring at him blankly, shadows of the morning casting funny lights onto her face, he gave up. She was in one of her episodes, whether she wanted to admit it or not, and it scared him. The long pauses in conversation and the even longer blank stares—usually at him—had been happening more and more often lately, and the only way he knew how to break them was to ask a stupid question.

"Can I fill my bottle up with the tap?"

His heart seemed to leap into his throat when she shook out of her stony expression, as if a cold wintery draft had entered the room. It was August, and without an air conditioner, the chances of a cool breeze coming into their apartment were slim to none. He was just about to ask her if she wanted a jacket or something, anything, but she then blinked her eyes rapidly, breaths coming in and out of her mouth haphazardly.

His hand shot out and grabbed her smaller hand, shocked to feel how cold it was. "Mom," he called, dark eyebrows furrowing in concern. He squeezed the numb fingers, "Kaa-san, it's me, Daichi. Are you okay?"

Her body trembled beneath his grasp, knocking against the island counter. Daichi tightened his hold on her hand, even taking both of his hands over her own, which seemed so much smaller than his now. "Kai," he tried, out of any other idea of what was going on. Maybe some idiot had set a genjutsu in the general area on accident. Despite the fact that that didn't explain why he was unaffected, he repeated the phrase over and over again, until it became a mantra.

"MOM!" He finally yelled when she started murmuring words, bits and pieces of some conversation that he could not understand. He probably would not ever understand, but with his eyes wide with panic and Sakura's eyes blank and desolate, his call seemed to rip her out of her trance.

Even when her breathing slowed to a normal, natural pace, his eyes were studying—confused, trying to figure out what was going on with his mother. Perhaps it was the fact that it was just him in the room, but he could not help but feel as if it were his fault, not some genjutsu. Whatever 'it' was, it scared him. He did not like seeing Sakura's tremors, emotionless masks, eyes so distant it was certain that she was not here anymore. She was far away, and it was his fault.

"Kaa-san—"

With a sharp intake of breath, Sakura swiped her hand out of Daichi's and covered her eyes, body tight.

He stood across from her, on the other side of the island, waiting patiently for her to gather herself. Though he was not counting the seconds, minutes, or even possibly hours—it felt like hours—he could tell time had passed significantly. The sounds of morning birds, early risers, giggling children, and general pedestrian traffic could be heard from outside the open window.

Gathering as much strength as he could, he turned away from the statuesque woman and strode over to the window over the sink, grasping the frame. He shut it with a grunt, a cloud of dust rising into the air. He coughed a few times, glancing out of the window only to see the two forms of his teammates trudging down the road.

His eyes flickered back to Sakura, noticing that she was still immobile. He sighed deeply and decided that leaving her like this, with the image of her struggling as hard as she was to get whatever image that was in her head out, was not going to do either of them any good. "Sakura," he tried, carefully reaching out only to put his hand back into his pocket. Maybe he should not touch her. That was probably a bad idea.

"Sakura," he called again.

She lifted her head up slowly, ghosts for eyes staring at him, without a blink. Though there were no tears, Daichi felt as if the woman had been crying, sad eyes not matching the small smile that her mouth formed. "Don't think that you're old enough to call me anything but Mom, now, Dai-kun," she reprimanded softly, head tilting.

"Sorry," he smiled, not knowing what else to do. The hardwood flooring creaked beneath his feet as he shifted his weight awkwardly, and it was the only sound in the room. He licked his dry lips, "Jun and Bunko are here; I have to go."

Seconds later, the doorbell rang, the cheery tone breaking the ice that had formed between the mother and son.

Sakura nodded, pushing herself off the island, standing straight. "Of course," she murmured, following behind her son toward the doorway. "I have to get to the hospital, anyway."

He hated when she acted as if nothing ever happened. He despised when she would open the door with a wide smile and a taunt of, "Only half an hour late this time, you guys!" But, looking at her talking to his teammates animatedly, asking if they had mastered this jutsu or figured out this sequence or that chakra control method, glowing in the early morning sun, he wondered if she even knew what he saw.

He wondered if  _ he _ should tell anyone else what he saw.

When all small talk was finished, Daichi closed the door softly behind him, locking it with a bit of chakra, just in case anything out of his control was happening.

* * *

"Sorry we're late, Daichi-kun," Bunko apologized, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture, almost as if she were praying for the acceptance of her apology.

Daichi spared a glance toward the only female on his team.

There she was, ridiculously long pigtails centered perfectly on each side of her head, colorful orb like ties holding the pitch-black hair together. Her lips were in a pout and her milky eyes were dog-like crescents, begging for his forgiveness.

If this did not happen every morning, he would have fallen for the trick and forgiven her— _ them _ , his mind quickly altered—without a second thought. However, since he was accustomed to waiting for them for nearly an hour every day, he waved away the overly dramatic show of regret, shrugging away its importance.

It was still relatively early, he assumed it was about eight, maybe eight thirty, and the mild temperatures chilled his raging mind. So many thoughts raced passed his eyes. When was the last time that Sakura had been so…he could not even put a name on the feeling? Maybe it was so hard for him to define it because 'it' was not his, but, in some sort of twisted and warped way, he felt like he had something to do with it. Perhaps not directly, but…a small headache rang at his sinuses.

He decided at that moment that he was going to visit the new Lord Hokage after training. If Sakura, his own mother, was not giving him any sort of hint toward figuring out the answers that he so desperately felt like he needed to know, Naruto would help him. It had become a birthday present of sorts. Every year, he offered one small bit of information toward the identity of his father. Though nothing was as big as figuring out that what he had was Sharingan, Daichi still wanted to know more.

But, then, he wondered, was knowing more about his father what he really wanted to learn? Was that going to help him any? He couldn’t even find any records of this 'Sharingan' in any of the village libraries. What would knowing anything else help if even the most prestigious libraries contained no information on the most obvious pointer toward the other half of his being?

Sakura never talked about the mysterious man, and whenever he tried questioning people—even strangers—the air always stiffened. They made up excuses. They just left.

It was obvious that his father did not want to be a part of his life or that of his mother's anymore, so why should he be so concerned? Well…he did not know himself, really, but somewhere deep within him, Daichi knew that at least knowing the name of his father would make things simpler. Not necessarily easier, but simpler. He wanted that, at least.

Daichi looked up toward the sky then, wondering how long it was going to take until he got the answers that he felt like he needed to have to feel as if he belonged to something. Sure, he belonged to his mother, he belonged to his teammates, his sensei, and the village, but he did not feel…complete with that. He did not know how else to say it. He was still a kid, technically. He was not too young to know that there  _ had _ to be a father, whichever way you want to look at it, but he was not old enough to figure the rest out himself. He had to rely on people that did not want him to know, and that was torturous.

He felt like he was running away from the other half of his entity, while the part of himself that he did have was encouraging him to do so. And that was the most twisted, corrupt, ridiculous thing he could ever think a person could do.

Why did they not want him to know who his  _ father  _ was?

The sound of Jun's voice broke through his mental conversation that was worsening by the thought.

"Are you alright, Haruno? You're glaring at the sun," the Inuzuka asked with a sharp hoot afterward.

Daichi swept his eyes over to the tanned brunet, narrowing the orbs threateningly. "You can't glare  _ at the sun _ ," he spat out, "baka. My eyes would've dried out by now."

Bunko rolled her eyes and sighed, shaking her head in shameful admission toward their first morning fight of the day. If she really wanted to, she could start gathering data on when and where the two normally started their bickering. That way, she could know when to bring up some sort of distraction to stop it from happening. The girl sucked her lips in, knowing that even the biggest of Hokage-sama's toad summons couldn't stop those two from arguing, and turned her head away from the boys' ridiculous bantering. She looked into the storefront windows, a small smile forming on her face.

Almost all of the shops displayed colorful kimonos and dresses for the upcoming Harvest Festival. Even though the actual event was some time from now, planning had been in the works since the beginning of summer. If her calendars were right, and the words of her mom's ever-changing information were constant and reliable, the event should happen sometime by the end of the next week.

She could hardly wait for the festival. It was the only civilian-esque thing a ninja could ever do without receiving strange looks. Besides, it was fun to pretend that the safety of people decades older than yourself was not your responsibility, but your neighbor. Mai-san could just be somebody who lived next door, not a reason to lose her life over protecting. If only for a day, Bunko loved feeling equal to the common people.

A smile graced her face lightly as they passed a familiar establishment. "Hey, guys, stop being idiots," she called.

The two froze, tangled together in a mess of blocked punches and stopped kicks. How they managed to do so much while walking amazed Bunko. She shook her head again when they pushed away from one another, fixing mussed hair and disheveled clothing. Jun made a face at Daichi, who sneered back.

Before another fight could break out, Bunko cleared her throat loudly. "Ichiraku is open. Don't you want some? I know I'm  _ starving _ ."

Bunko felt immediately conscious of her thin frame when both of her teammate's eyes examined her body, probably wondering how she could possibly ever be anything but starving. She crossed her arms aptly across her middle, huffing and turning away from the two. She reiterated, a tightness in her lips, "Do you want to stop and get some, or not?"

Jun smiled, pointy white teeth shining in the risen sun as he placed his arms behind his head. "Sure, I mean, I didn't really eat breakfast or anything beside my average bowl of amazing."

Daichi sighed. All he wanted to do was get to practice where he could pound some sense into Jun without interruption. He didn't want any food to slow him down. He could always eat when he finished training. Even though he did want the food, he didn't want it to mess up his whole practice session.

So, with that in mind, he shook his head, saying, "I'm not hungry, guy—"

"Yes, you are!" Bunko interrupted harshly, grasping his arm and dragging him to the shack.

* * *

All it took was  _ one _ dumpling.

He didn't even order ramen from the ramen shop and he was already feeling sick to his stomach. Practice had barely begun—with the customary warm-up round of a jog around the village, three minute rest, a few push ups followed by a few more sit-ups, and his individual Taijutsu kicks and punches—and the teen was fatigued.

Maybe it was because he ate bananas earlier that morning. However, it was more likely that the dumpling was making him feel nauseous. He doesn't eat greasy food, but somehow he had let his teammates—those people that help you improve—talk him into one 'measly', 'harmless', 'delicious' dumpling.

Daichi swallowed thickly again, landing a solid punch into the face of a dummy, watching the neck swing the feather-filled head back and forth in a whiplash. If it were a normal person, they undoubtedly would have either a broken nose and broken neck, or just a broken nose. He shook the joints in his hand loose, examining the new scratches shortly, before winding back for another shot at the puppet.

He was good at Taijutsu. He knew it, and, he wouldn't be ashamed to beat another ninja without any series of hand signs. Whenever Lee-sensei went on about how weak that he used to feel in comparison to the other members of his Rookie 12, Daichi couldn't help but to wonder why.

Why think that you're insignificant as a ninja because you can land a killing punch? Sometimes using up all your chakra reserves for jutsu during a battle is the worst thing to do, at least in Daichi's mind. One could easily run out of chakra and, without any skill in Taijutsu, they were dead meat. Genjutsu required one's essence as well, though Tai didn't. It was following that path of logic—the one that ninjas have chakra and should use it— that led Daichi to understand why his sensei might have felt lesser to his comrades and competitors.

The boy sent the head twirling again, though this time the dummy's head went flying off the weak kindling it was attached to. Hazy olive eyes followed the body-less head across the field with mild interest as he wiped the dampness from his palms on his shirt. He cracked his knuckles before deciding that, technically, if he had no dummy to practice on, he was done with his one-hundred uppercuts eighty-two punches early. The notion made sense, so the Haruno boy took to seeing where the head landed, most likely on the other side of the hill.

"Come to see how a  _ real _ genius practices, eh, Haruno?" Jun taunted the minute Daichi rounded the apex of the hill. Daichi lifted his eyes lightly, grimacing at the brightness. He saw Jun at the foot of a tree, a smug look on his face, leaning against the bark.

Daichi sent him a look then, tightening his jaw. "No," he said simply, continuing on in the search for his dummy's head.

"Well, then, is your stomach queasy?" He jaunted, grasping his own abdomen. "You can't handle food like a man, is it? You do look a lot paler than usual."

Their eyes clashed from across the distance of the field. Daichi bit his lip, tightening his fists at his sides with bottled aggression. Looking at the satisfied smirk across Jun's face, Daichi knew that this was what he wanted. He didn't want to give him the feeling of accomplishment that came with aggravating him. He really didn't, so with much effort he turned away.

"You going to your Kaa-san, Momma's boy? I'm sure she can bake you cookies with her kunai knives. Isn't that what Sakura uses them for now?"

The darker-haired teen rolled his eyes and grumbled, strolling with contained disdain toward Jun. He stopped just ahead of the boy, arms crossed tightly across his chest. The two started a glaring contest almost immediately after, jaws tightening, eyes narrowing. In the battle between budding testosterone, olive, and brown, the air tensed.

"What'd you get on your Written Exams?" Daichi asked, obsidian hair blowing with the wind.

Just as a smug grin split across Jun's face, Daichi interrupted, "Without me."

He was well aware of what the self-proclaimed genius had scored, with his own help. He looks back to that day with a conflicted expression, wondering what had overcome him when he decided that helping the Inuzuka would only get him away from him faster. Instead, it got them stuck on the same team.

Daichi took his chance to continue while the simply abashed expression took homage on Jun's tanned face. "Yeah. You would have  _ failed _ , Inuzuka," he seethed, venom lacing between words. "Keep my mother's name out your mouth, and consider with your tiny brain that  _ I _ can take away your hitai-e  _ any time I wan _ —"

A sharp pain met the side of his face, whipping his head to the left. As the taste of blood pooled into Daichi's mouth, a million thoughts whirred through his head. To retaliate, or to not retaliate? Should he let it slide? They were teammates for Kami sake and, even though he really hated Jun, he was the one who gave him the chance to become a Genin. He had to deal with the consequences.

Then again…he hated Jun, and he needed to be reminded of that every so often. Without hesitation, Daichi sent back a punch of his own, but missed, wood chips scratching his bare knuckles.

Jun grasped his arm with both his hands, brown eyes malicious. His grip was steel-like, ugly purple bruises already forming on Daichi's porcelain skin. "Take it, then," the Inuzuka dared, husky voice coming out like the sharp edge of a knife.

"Baka," Daichi bit out, a sardonic smile splitting his lips, blood staining his teeth. He wound back and landed a solid punch back at Jun, enjoying the feel of the bridge of his nose cracking beneath his fist.

The counterattack was almost immediate. A sweeping kick almost knocked Daichi off his feet, making him stumble for a few moments in the air before he gathered his footing in an unsteady landing. His eyes widened at the charging form of Jun, running straight at him, kunai in hand.

He leaped backwards just in time from the sharp point of the kunai knife, cutting downwards through the wind, what would've been a thrashing hit to his skull.

His heart pounded in his chest.

Did Jun mean to  _ kill _ him?

Just as the thought ran past the forefront of his mind, a high roundhouse kick flew over his head, scathing the longest tips of his up-spiked hair. An uppercut followed quickly after, knocking Daichi in the chin. He went through a minor bought of whiplash before the collar of his shirt was taken by strong hands, and thrust forward. It felt as if his brain was being shaken within his cranium, but he managed to land a solid kick into Jun's stomach, kneeing him.

He spit out a wad of sticky, red saliva, wiping the residue from his mouth with the back of his hand. "What are you  _ thinking _ ?" He shouted, chest heaving. Daichi's hands swung low at his sides, seemingly defenseless, but his fingers twitched with wound-up anticipation, ready to grasp shuriken if need be. Jun was crouched on the ground, one knee planted in the grass.

The wind blew coldly, making goose bumps rise on the teammate's arms. Even though they had barely scratched the surface of what some may call a fight, Daichi was exhausted, and he could tell by the shakiness of Jun's shoulders that he was fatigued as well. Still, Daichi watched with narrowed eyes as he waited for his reply—whether it is in words or another, rash, boisterous, characteristic attack.

Another gust of wind flew between the training fields, crossing both of the boys' eyes. Soon, the figure of a man appeared.

"Haruno Daichi," he called, stony, experienced eyes looking down on the boy. He figured that the man was either an older Chuunin or a retired Jonin, working for the Hokage. He'd never seen him around before, though the headband with the Leaf's insignia and green vest were enough proof for him.

Daichi slowly loosened the muscles in his arms, straightened, and turned toward the man. "That'd be me, sir," he said, bending slightly at the waist. Without much thought, he glanced behind him. He noticed Jun rising up from the ground, shuffling back toward his tree. Chakra charged to his feet before he began practice on chakra control, running up the bark. Daichi turned back to the Chuunin, clearing his throat, "How can I help you?"

The man smiled fondly. "I didn't mean to interrupt," he apologized.

"Oh," Daichi mumbled. "We were just…training."

He nodded in return, understanding, for the most part. Daichi was glad for this, though he made a point to keep his bruised arm behind his back. No one trained with intent to truly  _ harm _ his or her own teammate, at least on Lee-sensei's team. His head pounded at the thought of having to explain his episode to his sensei; though, he could imagine the way his legs would be throbbing after however-many laps he'd have to run around the village as punishment.

"Hokage-sama wants you to meet him in his office immediately. Your mother is already there. Would you like me to transport you there, or will you walk?" The man smiled shortly after, "Or, can you manage a transportation jutsu already, Haruno-san?"

Daichi smirked, "No, not quite yet, sir. I can walk, but, thanks for the offer."

The man nodded, performed a few hand signs, and disappeared with a poof.

Just as soon as the messenger flew away with the wind, Daichi regretted his choice to walk to the Hokage Offices. His nausea had come back vigorously, just as the adrenaline of the previous moments left him. He gripped his stomach and covered his mouth, retching dryly before swallowing thickly.

"Ugh," he moaned, the distinct taste of sweet bananas coating his mouth. How disgusting.

* * *

The tension within Naruto's office was almost visible, almost tangible, almost, almost, almost, Sakura thought. She sat up straighter, kept her back against the back of the chair and her feet planted on the ground. Her heart pounded against her ribcage almost as hard as she could hear the thudding going on outside the grand office doors.

Was he fighting? What for, she wondered. Was he defending himself, or was he being mistreated, thrown against walls against his will? Or, no, were those just figments of her imagination, going on its own tangents? No, it couldn't be, she decided, the cold air conditioning making her shiver, and the goosebumps stand predominantly. It couldn't be that. Naruto would never allow the treatment of prisoners—captured or not—to be treated so poorly before interrogation. Would he? Had all these years erased the well-known fact?

Uchiha Sasuke, missing nin, number one in the Bingo Books, was the Hokage's best friend.

And he was back in Konoha.

* * *


	2. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate leaving things at cliffies.

He never wanted to come back.

Sasuke had long accepted the fact that he wouldn't be able to find a home  _ anywhere _ , let alone in a Hidden Village. Nothing could go back to normalcy. Never again could he walk dirt roads without having his hand tensed on the edge of his katana. Only in dreams, however rarely those occurred, could he see the blue skies, bright sunshine, feel the cool breeze on his skin, and see it as peaceful.

Nothing was supposed to be peaceful for him anymore.

He didn't deserve the option of a fulfilled life, and the fact that he was alive now was something of a joke to him. It was funny that he could still walk when the choices he made should be enough to cripple him. It was humorous how he had the most reasons than anyone did to cry, but he couldn't, because he burned out those nerves, because the feeling was so foreign that he didn't remember how to create tears. What are tears to a man who has killed innocent women despite the liquid streaming down their faces?

Obsidian eyes lifted slowly, heavy, tired, eyelids rising. His eyes adjusted lucidly to the darkness of the dank room. Already he was aware of his constricts. Thick leather bands wrapped tightly around his wrists like vices, attaching him to the armrests of the previously uncomfortable chair. His pulse was unhealthily strong, blood trying too hard to reach his clenched fists. He couldn't feel his fingers, numbing digits on the ends of killing apparatuses.

Even though he couldn't see him, Sasuke knew he was there. Whom else would they assign to question the Bingo Book's Most Wanted?

Despite how badly he wanted to activate his bloodline in search for the man, Sasuke knew that his chakra lines had been disabled, a silver band on his ankle and an emptiness within him proved that much. The hollowness was very much unwelcome, and made him feel tired, heavy, and slow, as if he were in a dragging state. Even if he could manage a simple jutsu, he could imagine how easily he would stumble over his feet, grow nauseous, and vomit. Within seconds, he would be on the floor, beyond weakened.

But, still, Sasuke had been without chakra before and what he had felt then was exhaustion. He was fatigued. Tired. His body wanted nothing more than to take a nap, sleep forever. Having been running and hiding, fighting and killing so not to be killed himself, the thought of a peaceful slumber was uncharacteristic. And, he wanted it. He wanted to be asleep  _ so very badly _ .

"It's a sedative," a rough deep timbre called, erupting from somewhere ahead of him, far off to the left. The sound of a door clicking open and then settling closed, along with a stream of light, entered Sasuke's line of sight. Although he didn't see Ibiki enter, it could be gathered that he was in there, heavy steps echoing throughout the room. "Opium," Ibiki continued, "is one of the most poisonous and addictive plants there is. You can thank the Yamanakas for managing to douse the room with its scent. We weren't sure it would work."

Sasuke grunted, lifting his chin slightly. "It's not affecting you," he stated, his voice foreign, tongue thick like tar.

"A little flower isn't going to bother me."

Challenge was obvious laced in his tone, but not in a competitive manner. It was as if Ibiki was daring Sasuke to believe otherwise, to believe that this man was not someone to be afraid of, to think for one second that his life was not on the line based on a short hesitation, and that Ibiki wasn't teetering between the worlds of sanity and insanity himself.

Almost by instinct, Sasuke felt beady brown eyes examining his composure, seeing him through the dark, and met the gaze evenly, narrowing his own black eyes. Was Ibiki already prodding at something he held in high esteem? Throughout the years, Sasuke's pride had never left him, and to know that something as simple as the scent of a flower had erased all feeling of power from him made him want to prove himself.

He sat straighter, lifting his head—heavy, as heavy as it was—and kept his stare consistent. He wasn't backing down.

Seconds of tension tightened the air, pulled it tight like a string, and the rope was released with a snap when Ibiki stated calmly, "You know you should and could be dead right now?"

"Yes."

The reply threw Ibiki back for a few moments, the question he had previously fabricated dissipating into nonexistence and irrelevance. He should have known that the Uchiha would be honest, for what did he have to lose? Most of his victims had something that he could hang above their heads, something they would miss. What did Sasuke have that he hadn't lost already? All Sasuke had to give was himself, and even that Sasuke seemed not to value as much as he should.

"Are you also aware that the only reason that you are given a chance of redemption, albeit slim, is because of a friend of whom you have had no contact with in ten plus years?"

Ibiki watched him carefully, watched as ebony eyebrows knitted themselves together, then untangled, complete surrender molding onto the young man's face before a new mask of choice indifference found place. "Yes," he said, then continued after some time, "I am aware of what the idiot did."

"How many people have you killed since you left Konoha?" A cynical chuckle reached his ears before Ibiki decided to clarify, "Under Orochimaru, then?"

Sasuke sighed tightly, "I didn't," he said simply, fighting the urge to lace his fingers together. "I might've made two or three people die, but I didn't kill them."

"Clarify."

"I didn't kill for Orochimaru. I injured them to the point of unconsciousness. Whether the person died later wasn't up to me," he leaned back into his chair, settling into the most comfortable position he could fathom. He listened to the pencil scratches against parchment and the quiet murmurs Ibiki made as he tried to make sense of every word he said, every motion he made, and every breath he took.

Instead of feeling paranoid, Sasuke welcomed the scrutiny.

He deserved it, so he had no reason to feel uncomfortable.

The silence dragged on to the point where he wondered if Ibiki was still in the room. He quarried if his eyes were even still open, but knew they were when he felt long eyelashes brush his skin. A shiver ran through his body moments later, disrupting the heavy breathing of his lungs. It felt as if a boulder were crushing against his chest. The air was thick, humidity creating moisture and tranquility in the room.

This was the opposite of what he thought it would be like to be interrogated. Here he was, breathing sleepily, without a heavy thump to his heartbeat, and cool as water. Wasn't he supposed to be getting tortured by the torturer? In his dreams he imagined being whipped, stoned, ridiculed in the middle of the village, his interrogation some sort of show. He saw sweat dripping down his forehead, felt his throat, dry as the desert sand, felt his palms, damp as the air of Kiri.

When he felt himself succumb to the absolute silence of pencil scratches and dripping water from the ceiling, blackness becoming even blacker by the closing of his eyes, Sasuke jolted himself awake, anger boiling inside of him.

"Interrogate me."

"I'm busy."

"Interrogate me," he repeated, fury releasing, "for the village! I'm a coldblooded killer and you want me to gain your trust? Skip the bullshit. Do your damn job."

A wry grin split across Ibiki's face as he reached underneath his table, flipping a small switch. One by one, rows of bright white fluorescent lights flickered on, erasing every shadow. Clean white walls and shiny white tile boxed the two ninja in a safe, soundproofed white room, nothing but a stainless steel table separating them.

Ibiki stared directly into the shrunken eyes of Sasuke, grin widening as he spread his arms across the table, brushing against a tray of knives, shiny and sharpened, ready for whatever use he may need them for during the course of this questioning. The sound of the metals clashing together echoed throughout the room, and Ibiki savored the feeling of the tables tipping completely in his favor.

"As you wish, Uchiha-sama."

.

.

.

Instantaneous

.

"What's going on out there?"

She couldn't help it. She couldn't help sounding anxious when the door opened quickly and shut even faster, a gust of wind meeting her back. It was against her will that her body whipped around so quickly that her hair smacked her arm; it wasn't in her mind to look startled when it wasn't Naruto at the door, or Shizune, or Tsunade, or even Shikamaru. No, it wasn't Shikaku. It wasn't Ino. Hinata hadn't come by for a surprise visit to see her husband. It was not Kiba. Choji. Rock Lee. TenTen. Kakashi. Gai. Kurenai…

It wasn't anyone she knew.

Her blood ran cold and the color drained from her face. A tall man donned in the full black and gray of an interrogator stood ahead of her, eyes hidden by the bright reflection of afternoon sun on eyeglasses. His face was stone cold, frozen into place, and void of emotion. Sakura's heart pounded at her ribcage and begged to be released. Her throat went dry as her mind fought for words.

Why was a member of the Interrogation Unit not in his quarters? One hardly saw any one walking around without purpose. The rumors were true then. Sakura's heart jumped to her throat. The small talk of a certain traitor being dragged throughout the village late last night actually occurred. It wasn't a figment of her imagination, or anyone else's. It was Sasuke in the hallway being thrashed and tossed about, beaten until he was forced to cooperate.

Where were they taking him? The sounds of fighting were most surely over now, though she couldn't tell, the sound of her own heart beating drowning out whatever was going on outside. The ANBU and Torture Unit were dragging him down the stairs, shouldering him down to the basement, leading him through damp tunnel ways that lead to Konoha's Central Intelligence buildings.

_ He shouldn't have ever been brought back _ .

Inside, she was a nervous wreck, thoughts jumping from conclusion to conclusion, but on the outside, she remained calm, despite the shakiness of all her limbs. She stood with concentration, smoothing any wrinkles in her pants, "Konichiwa," she greeted. Her quick bow was followed by one from the interrogator, and she exhaled again, relaxing. "Can I help you?"

He adjusted his glasses before situating his arms behind his back. "The meeting Hokage-sama previously set up for you to have along with Haruno Daichi and Hatake Kakashi will no longer occur. Other matters arose," he explained.

Sakura let her mouth fall open, shocked, only to shut it shortly after. "Oh," she murmured, nodding to herself.

"Haruno-san," he said abruptly, stopping her train of thought. "Any questions you may have cannot be answered at the moment. I am sure that you are needed elsewhere. Why don't you visit a friend, and we will send a messenger out for you when the Hokage has the availability in his schedule to set another meeting?"

Her green eyes narrowed in suspicion as a wave a familiarity crashed into her. "You're the mind reader," she said, fair eyebrow rising.

She didn't wait for him to answer, taking his hesitation to do so as enough evidence.

"So you know that I have an idea as to what this meeting is about. You don't have to hide anything from me, and it would be wise for you not to."

The young man let a grin split across his face, "Are you threatening me?"

"Yes."

The two shared a long glance at each other, Sakura's jaw raised just an inch higher than normal, eyes turned into dangerous slits. The clock seemed to tick by minutes, hours, days before Mozuku removed his glasses, cleaning them on the cloth of his black cloak. "I have no information to disclose to you or anyone of interest as of yet, Haruno-sama," he told with a forced patience, placing his spectacles back on his face. "Have a nice day."

Sakura watched as he turned on his heel, black gloves reaching out for the handle, before returning to her seat.

"It is against village regulation to be in the Hokage offices without—"

"He knows I'm here."

Mozuku stared at Sakura, taking in the civilian clothing, gentle face, pink hair and honey smile. For some reason, he knew that he shouldn't be leaving her here. One of the main things he had learned during his short time as one of the Head Interrogators was that one's outer appearance should never influence a decision made about their character. How was he to know that this woman was capable of more than she let on?

However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, she was just that: a woman, and a mother at that. Her sweet smile and gentle composure—ignoring the previous threat, that is—was most likely genuine. She was surely uncomfortable listening to all of the ruckus going on outside, and that put her on edge. Hardly any civilian had seen let alone been spoken to by an interrogator. She was just on the defensive.

Mozuku returned the grin, a lopsided smile covering his face. "Great," he said, opening the doorway. "Be sure not to bother anything, and I'll let him know that you are in here waiting."

"Arigatou," Sakura called back, waiting until the door clicked closed and his footsteps were heard galloping down the stairs.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding seconds later.

What was she thinking? She scoffed to herself, realizing that she couldn't have been. Nothing—not a single thing—running through her thought processes had been intelligent. She was simply acting on impulse, a large mistake in itself. Her eyes began to water despite herself. Just the thought of Uchiha Sasuke sent her railing back to her childhood mistakes and habits. Why defend him now? Why wish that the ANBU that surely had him in their arms weren't harming him after all he has done? Not only to her, she reminded herself, but to hundreds, maybe thousands of other people and families all in the original selfish goal of killing a brother.

Avenging. That was what he had called it. He was going to return his clan to greatness, to the level of renowned fame they had before the massacre. He was going to do it all by himself, because his brother was what brought the Uchiha name to shame. It was all Itachi's fault, all because of Itachi that Sasuke was pitied. It was his big brother's fault that he was alone. So he had to kill him, and to do that, he had to get more power. That was Sasuke's rationale; Sakura rolled her eyes, a sadistic smile tweaking her lips upward. But of course, avenging was not enough. Avenging became revolution, revolution became atonement, atonement became…it became a death wish.

No matter how realistic and true as it was, the hardest pill for Sakura to swallow was that Uchiha Sasuke is a dead man walking, and he should be. He should be.

Legs restless, Sakura stood, pacing around the office. Her pace calmed as she took in personal touches Naruto had added. A picture here, a certificate there. He had someone move in the Yondaime's picture from the Hokage hall a few days ago. She remembered the unnecessary stress the council had caused him over that. "It's just a picture," Naruto had mumbled while they ate ramen in his office, since Naruto was still uncomfortable with the attention he got from the villagers in public. "And of my  _ dad _ . Come on, I'll have it moved back to their stupid Hall of Past Hokage's when I'm one myself."

Sakura laughed a little, sitting in his chair, loving the cushioning and support it provided her. Naruto would always be Naruto: stubborn, rash at times, but loving always. Just sitting here made her feel better, as if he was in the room too. Just his aura lifted her spirits before they fell back down.

She should feel embarrassed right now, not relaxed. She had threatened someone she barely knew on behalf of an S-Ranked traitor!

Alone, scrutinizing Naruto’s messy desk, she evaluated her own actions—her mistakes—internally. Sakura was conflicted. Maybe it was wrong for her to want Sasuke to be treated as if he weren't honestly dangerous, because he was. Sasuke was very dangerous, and, rubbing her fingers across her throat gently, she would be one of the first people to tell anyone that.

Her mind took her back to the better times, when she wasn’t so damn annoying, Naruto wasn't a political figure, and Sasuke showed who he truly was, when he let the walls come down, took off the masks. A smile danced on her lips. This was why she felt the need to stand up for his mistreatment. He was a human being, too. "We all make mistakes!" she wanted to scream. He just made a lot of them.

Sakura's eyes suddenly landed on a picture frame, a sock thrown over the edge. She reached out, gingerly taking the rectangular object. She carefully removed the fabric covering the picture, and tears welled in her eyes. Her own grinning face met her eyes, along with the bright smile of Naruto and the captured laughter of her son. He was so young—six or seven, maybe, the candid happiness of a child sparkling in his eyes. Naruto had just won him a goldfish, of which he was proudly displaying for whoever was taking the picture.

She missed that little boy, the one who was happy, a smile always on his face. This must've been what his father looked like as a kid. Water splashed down onto the glass of the frame, plopping slowly and in solidarity. The tear startled Sakura, making her jump slightly, shaking her out of her reveries.

She grabbed the edge of her shirt and hastily wiped away the tear.

Now seemed like a good time to go. 

* * *

Daichi crashed into the doors of the flower shop with such urgency that the little bell dancing on the edge of the door fell, torpedoing toward the ground at a speed so great that it broke on contact with the ground. The tiny pieces of silver were the least of the teenager's worries as he stormed throughout the shop, eyes dotted, and forehead damp with cold sweat.

He parted the beads that separated the shop and the Yamanaka's living area before leaning, or, rather, throwing himself against the wall instead of the bamboo flooring.

"Holy shit!" the matriarch of the Yamanaka clan shouted, dropping her knitting needles on the table ahead of her before teetering over to Daichi. Normally, she would excuse herself for her language, even explain that she normally never speaks in such audacious manners, but this boy was obviously sick. She placed a hand on his forehead and nearly swore again. "You are burning up," she muttered, amazed that he even managed to make it this far without passing out.

She gently pulled at his wrist, tugging him off the wall, wrapping her other arm around his shoulders as he moaned in detest. When they finally reached the couch, she released him, watching with maternal eyes. For one moment, she forgot that this was the same little boy that used to help her sweep up in exchange for change for the candy shop. This was no child, no, but a boy that was turning into quite the attractive young man. She shook her thoughts away, knowing she would sit and admire his picturesque features all day if she let herself. "Daichi-kun," she said gently, "you have a fever. I'm going to go make some tea; don't go anywhere, okay?"

He mumbled assent before sinking further into the couch, closing his eyes.

Kami, his stomach hurt. He shouldn't have eaten anything. However embarrassing it is, he knows he has a weak stomach, especially with greasy food, or things with strong flavors. Sure, the dumpling was actually very yummy going in, he'll give it that, but now— _ now _ —he wanted nothing but for it to get out. That and the disgusting banana. He clenched his abdomen again and swallowed his saliva thick.

He had never gotten this sick, though, over some food. A part of him knew that his body was probably reacting from all the traumatic emotions he had found himself rollercoastering on throughout the morning. First, he was terrified, witnessing his mother going through whatever it was that was taking over her. She was frozen just like a statue, and nothing he did would get her out. Feeling useless like that made him feel terrible.

And then Jun. They fought all the time but never had they physically fought because of an argument. Lee-sensei made them spar constantly to decide who was right, and the one time Lee wasn't there Jun almost killed him. Was he really that angry? A part of Daichi was proud of himself for shaking up the Inuzuka that much, but was it worth watching a kunai coming down on him, held in the hands of a teammate?

"Drink this, dear," Ino's mother instructed, placing a warm cup in his hands. "It's not that great tasting, but it will clear up your fever." She tilted her head as her eyebrows furrowed, "Is your stomach upset, too?"

Daichi smelled the tea, eyebrows rising slightly in shock, before shaking his head. "I'll be fine," he smiled. "Don't worry—"

"Oh, calm down and let me take care of you," she chastised, taking the china out of his grasp again. He opened his mouth to detest again, but was hushed by one sharp look. "I'll put some chamomile in this. Don't go anywhere."

Daichi watched her retreat into the backroom, laughing lightly to himself. Where would he possibly go? He hardly knew the flower shop as well as he used to, and felt much better sitting then he did standing, let alone walking. It was a wonder that he made it this far and wondered how he even thought he could've made it to the Hokage Towers before.

His heart jolted as he suddenly remembered why he left training in the first place. He hopped unsteadily off the couch and trotted into the backroom. "Yamanaka-baa," he called, feeling rude to enter the room uninvited. He stuck his head into the doorway, scanning the small kitchen for her. "Yamanaka-baa, I need to leave. I have a meeting with the Hokage."

A hard whack slapped the side of his face moments later.

"What was that for?" He shouted, pressing a hand to his head.

Mrs. Yamanaka placed her gardening book on the counter, "I told you not to go anywhere. Sit on my couch and drink this, boy.” She touted her breast, then added, “And don’t call me grandma.”

He rolled his eyes and took the cup for a second time, not even daring to smell it before drinking. He threw his head back, swallowing all of the contents and ignoring the burning lighting in his mouth, throat, and esophagus. "I have to leave," he said, handing the china back to her, "thanks for your hospitality."

Daichi nodded his goodbye, turning his back on the matriarch. He took three steps before her voice sung out, ”I don't know where you think you're going!” She hummed as she sat comfortably with her needles back in her hand. "You know Naruto won't care if you're there are not. He'll debrief you after that tea gets through your system and you finish stinking up my bathroom."

He groaned with his hands set for brushing the beads out of his way. "Yamanaka-san, I really think I should still—"

“Like father, like son, ne?”

Those words stopped Daichi right in his tracks, the rest of his sentence losing the rest of its importance. His jaw tightened as he tried to decide which meant more to him, even when he knew consciously which did. His hand moved to the edge of the doorframe, gripping it harshly as he volleyed his options. Yes, he was sick, and yes, Yamanaka-baa did have a point. He should stay until he's at one-hundred percent. And, if he stayed, she would tell him about his father. 

She didn't have to spell it out for him that she was making an offer. All he had to do was turn around, sit, let her talk, and forget all about his meeting with Naruto-sama.

He bit his lip, fighting his own personal want with the duty he had as a ninja. The Hokage wanted to talk with him, so he had an obligation to do so. It was as simple as that, but, somehow, it wasn't.

Daichi cleared his throat, turning stoically to face the woman, half his body still toward the door. He took one look at her smile, bordering on smug, and knew that he was right. For whatever reason, this woman wanted him to stay. Whatever it was that she was protecting him from, she was determined to do so. Daichi sighed. “How am I like my father?"

The woman laughed sweetly. "Well, beside physical traits, you both are very protective of your mother. And, oh, you have your moments when you can just be so proud. You're talented, too," she nodded, "and extremely gifted."

_ What a help _ . Any figment of hope Daichi had disappeared with her answer. He could probably walk across the street and find a man that's protective of his wife, proud, and talented at his craft. Most people around had dark hair and pale skin like he does, too. He staggered over to the reclining chair and plopped, propping up his elbow and leaning his hand on his open palm.

"He's dead," Daichi muttered, glaring at the floor. "He got killed on a mission."

Mrs. Yamanaka shook her head, pausing in her knitting. "I don’t know why you would say that. Look at me, Daichi," she stopped until he stubbornly met her stare. “Your father absolutely is not dead.”

He threw his arms up, exasperated, all the emotions he had been storing for years pouring out. He slammed into the rocking chair, hands talking ferociously. ”Then where is he, Yamanaka-baa! He's not here with the rest of us. He's not with Mom; he left her all by herself to support herself and a little baby without any help! She struggles to pay bills and I  _ know _ how hard she works at the hospital. Double, triple, quadruple shifts,” he counted the fingers out, “all because  _ my  _ dad left her! He left us all alone and not a single person has  _ anything  _ to say about it. Nobody. Nobody wants to help the kid that has a deadbeat as a father!"

"Daichi, calm down. You have to understand something," she said slowly, in a premeditated voice. She watched him carefully, watched him breathing deeply, tight lipped, eyes watery. He didn't make any further movement, beside looking out the window, so she assumed he was listening. "Your father is doing the absolute best that he can to protect your mom," she said carefully, eyeing him for reaction at each word. “And you.”

Seconds passed. Daichi kept his eyes trained on the scene outside, face twisting slowly into a sneer. His hands tightened on the armrests of his chair and his knuckles whitened. Still, Daichi did not respond.

The elder sighed, "I'm sure by now that the meeting is over."

Daichi braced both of his hands on the arms of the chair, pushing himself off the chair, leaving it rocking long after he slammed the door behind himself.

* * *

"Can you come outside?"

Bunko grimaced in confusion. Daichi sat perched atop a tree, leaning precariously over the branch, throwing pebbles at her window. At first, she'd ignored him, deciding that it must've been something he and Jun thought would be funny. Without the smell of dog anywhere near, though, Bunko chose to open her window just enough to hear his odd request.

She grumbled, "You had to climb a tree and nearly kill yourself to ask if I could  _ come outside _ ? What are we, four?"

"Shut up," he snapped, eyes narrowing. Bunko flinched backwards instinctively. Noticing this, Daichi exhaled out the tensions that he was holding in and tried again. “Could you at least let me in?”

Bunko leveled eyes with him for a few minutes, then nodded. She waltzed toward her closet and began fishing through rows and rows of formal kimonos meant for when she visited her granduncle and the other Clan Heads. Behind everything was a staff, something her mom gave up teaching her a long time ago. She figured that it was long enough and would work perfectly for bridging her teammate’s gap.

She pranced back to the window, staff in hand. "Do you think you can walk across this, or are your panties in that much of a bunch?"

"I'm sorry," Daichi apologized. He really hadn’t meant to yell at her. "I've had a bad day."

Bunko wordlessly tilted the staff on the edge of her balcony and held it still with her hand. She waited for Daichi to grasp the other end. When he caught it, she mumbled, ”Hold it tight while I get you something to hold your end still.”

"Okay," Daichi replied. She didn’t hear him, but that was okay. He watched the way she walked around her room, as if she were on ice and simply gliding on by, while he waited. It was amazing to him, really, how effortless she was with literally everything she did. No matter how hot it was, she even ran with a regal quality. Watching her fight was like watching an eagle soaring in the air. Her footing was so sure and movements so routine and perfected; she made it look easy to perform the Hyuga jutsu. It was, Daichi surmised, pretty perfect. 

Bunko returned to the window with an obi, unaware of the fact that Daichi had been staring at her. "Tie the staff down with this," she instructed, balling the silk up before tossing the material over. "Make sure your knots are tight, alright, Haruno?"

"Yeah, yeah," Daichi mumbled, drawing two ends of the silk apart.

He lowered himself into a crawling position. Scoot by calculated scoot, he inched closer and closer to Bunko's window until he found himself stepping onto the ledge of the balcony. “How will we–?” he wondered, pointed toward the staff.

Bunko shrugged, "It'll fall."

Daichi suppressed a laugh as he followed her into her room. He sat in one of her plush chairs, and awkwardly adjusted his legs. The thing was obviously built for girls, with their short little legs and whatnot. He finally found a way to sit that didn't make him look like something was caught in his underwear, and flicked his head up when he heard laughter.

"What?" he asked sharply, embarrassed.

Bunko shook her head, leaning into the pillows on her bed. "Oh, nothing," she sang. “Did you finish training earlier than usual?"

The question made Daichi's heart skip a beat – did she know about his and Jun's fight? – but he realized she couldn't possibly have had any knowledge of their altercation. She genuinely tended to go her own way during training, so it was just an innocent question. He relaxed, and asked back, “No. Did  _ you _ finish early?"

“No,” she grumbled. “Lee-sensei let me leave. My mom was supposed to come home from a mission yesterday."

_ But she isn’t back yet _ , Daichi finished for her, nodding slightly. He didn't know if he could handle his mom being gone all the time, risking her life, like Bunko’s did. Even if it was for the village, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night not knowing if she was still breathing. He glanced at her then, face blank and body relaxed, eyes focused on her television.

He sighed and, lacking anything else to say, mumbled, "That's cool." 

Time passed, the two teens watching television absentmindedly. The empty entertainment was relaxing. Even though Daichi didn’t have a TV himself, he spent enough time with his teammate to keep up with the plots of her favorite shows. During a commercial break, Bunko broke the comfortable silence. Daichi rose a curious eyebrow at her growing smirk.

“You wanna get into some trouble?”

He started, “I–”

She’d already decided for him, leaping out of bed and pulling him up. “‘Course ya do!”

* * *

Sakura was back at the Lounge Area.

It wasn't as if she hung out there a lot, however, and she felt odd in the room for the fourth time since she clocked in, almost an hour and a half late. Normally she would find some work to do in her office, or some lower doctor to help out in a minor surgery. On a regular day, a Genin or Academy Student would've hurt themselves and needed stitches or simply a band-aid, or an ANBU needed a physical for a mission they'd been sent on.

As she sipped another coffee, Sakura realized that this wasn't a normal day. The hospital was irregularly empty, only a few nurses and doctors she recognized walking around. Maybe it was some holiday that she hadn't been informed of, or she simply missed the memo for this year's Doctor Ditch Day.

She sighed, leaning into the couch before standing, walking toward the snack machine. She fished through her lab coat jacket for change when a bill entered her vision. Her eyes trailed up the toned arm of the holder of the money, until they landed on a vaguely familiar face.

He smiled, gesturing toward the machine. "I'm sorry; I think I just cut you in line."

Sakura's eyes widened, looking away. "Oh," she grinned, "Don't worry about it."

She surveyed the contents of the vending machine, tilted her head as she tried to decide what she wanted. There were pretzels, fruit snacks, Pocky, and some fruit drinks. Nothing seemed to be enough, but she was still hungry.

"Nothing doing it for you?" the man asked, tapping her shoulder to catch her attention.

Sakura turned and smiled politely. "No, not quite," she answered. She looked away only to turn back momentarily, money back in her pocket. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"Maybe," he answered. "but I know you, Haruno Sakura, best doctor here at Konoha Hospital. One of the most beautiful, if I might add."

Her heart fluttered in her chest, a light fluffiness she hadn't felt in years. She held her mug with both hands, holding the cup closer to her face, trying to hide her blush, and blame it on the heat of the steam. She took a sip and sighed, composing herself, "Thank you. I haven't been complimented in a while," she admitted, laughing.

"You deserve to hear one everyday, Sakura-chan," he smiled, dipping his head. "Listen, my sister and I just opened a little bakery. Come by and ask for Takeshi; he'll fix you something nice."

Sakura let her mouth fall agape before she managed to force the muscles into a grin.

"Sure, Takeshi-san. I'll definitely do that."

He grinned before turning on his heel and flicking his wrist in goodbye. He hoped, very dearly, that she would be keeping her word.


	3. Trust

.

.

_ Do you remember when you first said you loved me? _

_. _

_. _

A lot of things had changed, very quickly, because of the war. Before, during, and after – the war was the turning stone for everyone involved. From the daimyos to the civilians to the historically major and newly renowned clans of each village. Everything was different. For some, the largest difference was the emptiness of loss. 

Others felt this loss juxtapose miraculous gain. It was hard to appreciate the miracle as it should have been. In fact, one person contemplated eliminating what she considered to be the greatest cause of her pain altogether. She sat with her teammate – her  _ only _ other teammate – at a table in a quiet corner of the hospital. Two mugs of tea steamed, untouched, and the wails of mothers echoed in the halls.

Despite how patient he was being, she felt pressured to blurt out her thoughts when she heard yet another doctor explain that there was nothing more to be done. Her brown eyes flickered, determined, as she swore, “I can’t keep it.”

“You have to,” her partner said quickly. He absorbed all the news much quicker than she thought he would. All of it. From the worst part to the slightly less worse part. His unrelenting optimism and support might have cleared her cloud of blind utilitarianism in the past, but now, she was sure that her choice was made.

“I can’t,” she repeated. “It doesn’t make sense to.”

Her teammate persisted, “You will. It’s not about sense.” He caught her eye and held it more seriously than she thought possible. Her breath caught as he began to pronounce the elephant’s presence in the room. “This baby is all we would have left of–”

But she had already prepared an argument for that.

“Lee,” TenTen interrupted. “I will not. The world does not want a fatherless child.” 

“TenTen,” Lee sighed, in disbelief. TenTen looked away, perhaps in shame, perhaps unable to overpower Lee’s gaze. He had a more detailed rebuttal on the tip of his tongue, she could tell, but he only bit his lip. This was not his decision to make. He realized that TenTen sharing the news of pregnancy with him was big enough of a step to be considered mountainous. He felt honored to be trusted with the information. She did not have to spell out to him that it was a secret to Neji, to Gai, or to anyone else on the planet. For all that he knew about TenTen, he knew that if she had it her way, he would have never been told this early at all. An impossibility now, but this honor was meant for the baby’s father. 

Lee cleared his throat and TenTen turned back to him. He spoke carefully and calmly. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, because it is your choice and I respect you; and I appreciate you telling me.” 

He paused as a group of people, none that the pair recognized, walked by. 

“I think, though, that you would be very wrong to assume that your baby will ever feel as though she is without a father,” he smiled lightly at TenTen’s confusion, then continued, “I will be there. And we will figure it out. Together. If you’d let me help.”

TenTen stuttered, tears brimming her eyes but never falling. She reached for her mug and felt the heat of the liquid inside. She didn’t know what she wanted to hear, and she thought she knew what she wanted to do. Her plans had changed so swiftly, and so many times, within the past 72 hours. It had brought her relief to close the door on a choice decisively, but for some reason, the eagerness in Lee’s eyes gave her pause.

It made her reconsider, and for that, she’d be eternally grateful.

.

.

.

_ Instantaneous _

. 

.

.

It’s hard to know the exact moment when it happened. 

TenTen still ponders it often, probably more often than she should, all things considered. There’s something about the night that makes her thoughts flow more freely, though. Maybe it’s the way the moon glows white, but doesn’t cast a shadow. Maybe it’s that it’s easier to wonder about moments and things when she’s bathed in the warm orange light of a crackling fire, sitting next to a stranger. 

Moments and things don’t happen in alignment with time, so it’s silly for TenTen to be wondering  _ when _ . However, knowing that she’s being silly doesn’t stop her. These moments are important to understand because they are the ones that time blurs. The heart or mind, or sometimes both – usually both – make these moments stronger, and that strength is something TenTen wants to feel as often as she can. Sue her for wanting to go back to them; sue her for thinking so long on  _ why _ that she’s given up and has moved on to  _ when _ . It would be easier if she knew when, but she doesn’t. 

She doesn’t know when she fell in love with Neji. 

She wants to know, but she also knows that Neji isn’t really the kind of person that you fall in love with. She kind of just fell, and then one day looked up, and realized she had been caught. For someone as secure as TenTen, it was unsettling for her to experience falling at the same time as she experienced stillness. It felt like floating in the ocean on a calm day with your eyes closed. She had never done such a thing, and would never do such a thing, but the thing seemed like it would be nice to try. 

It was nice to try.

The sound of a snapping twig broke her thoughts. TenTen slid her eyes toward the sound and saw that the man beside her was whittling a stick to a sharp point. His eyes were sharp between the slits of his ANBU mask, focused. 

TenTen trained her eyes on the sharpening stick and spelled out the four letter word  _ safe  _ repeatedly in her mind, to the rhythm of her partner striking the wood. She tried not to wince each time. Even if she did, her teammate wouldn’t see her discomfort. Her mask would cover it. She didn’t want to express the emotion in any case, though, so she set her gaze back to the fire. 

Rather than think about when she fell in love with Neji, it would perhaps be better to think about when she started to trust the Hyuga. It was probably when they were genin. 

Genin sounds right. 

Neji moved with so much certainty that TenTen was drawn to him like a moth. She liked the way he willed air to move for him, and saw this as a testament of having a perfect balance of strength and fragility, arrogance and poise. She also liked the way that Neji believed in things that didn’t exist, things like fate and destiny. He believed in them so much that he did everything with a grander purpose. He always existed in the present at the same time that he honored the past and revered the future. It was admirable, so she admired it. She admired him. As a child, she knew that she would have never expressed this level of admiration to his face – and, thinking blurredly, she’s not sure if she ever did, even as they got older. This inadmittance was not so deep as to be a regret, but it’s something her heart and mind made stronger than time. She remembered it as missing so much that, in her dreams, she often tested out what it would be like if it was there. 

Doing things like that was silly. It was a waste of time.

In the fall, when it was windy and wet, there was lots of time wasted. TenTen let her mind wander from the humming night-bugs and firelight and scratching whittling sounds; she transported to nearly twenty years ago, when one time Neji had silently offered her a hair tie, tapping her twice on the arm with the elastic as they sat side by side in the training fields. Gai and Lee were almost always late – no one knew this about the pair, but their time management was less than stellar – and Neji and TenTen spent most days stretching silently beside each other while they waited. Never together. Just…at the same time, in the same space, doing the same thing. 

Practice would be early on mornings like these. No one knew this, either, but TenTen didn’t always have her hair in buns. And, on these early mornings, her hair would blow in the breeze until stretches were all done. On this day in particular, she hadn’t noticed it at the time, but she only had one elastic. Neji noticed, though. Neji gave her his emergency, back-up hair tie that day, to use without a word. TenTen doesn’t remember saying "Thank you,” and she doesn’t remember him saying, “You’re welcome.” She just remembers his hand tapping her arm, mid-stretch, and the feeling of their hands and fingers grazing as Neji placed the elastic in her palm. 

TenTen knew that that was the moment she decided, all things considered, that she trusted Neji. He would always look out for her, even when she wasn’t looking out for herself. 

The fire outside sparked and crackled, sending TenTen back into the present. She inhaled sharply, and stood, tugging her gloves up. She didn’t check to see if her teammate had heard her before announcing, “I’m checking aerial,” and leaping up into the surrounding foliage. When her shoes platted onto the solid bark of a tall enough tree, she removed her mask and looked at the forest around her. She could still see the fire from her camp, even from all the way up here.

She made a mental note to put it out, the moon rising higher into the night, wind cooling her racing thoughts.

* * *

The wind blew gently throughout the halls of a home on a hill, near the highest peak in Konoha, sending thin curtains covering open windows fluttering. It was soft inside, for once. As a fly on the wall, you would see the signs of a new kind of life re-beginning. Some moving boxes tucked away in the closet here, some half rummaged through in the living room there. A laundry basket with nicely folded clothes smelling of lavender sat atop the living room table, next to two half eaten bowls of ramen. One bowl was glass, the other: bright blue plastic. A rattle, three bottles, a doll, and who knows what else was under the couch – this was not for lack of trying, but, really, Hinata had a hard time keeping it all straight. She would sand the rough edges smooth in the morning.

Hinata appreciated the rarity of sound sleep and unconsciously drew herself closer to Naruto in their bedroom. Naruto’s breathing hitched momentarily, but he cuddled into his wife in return. The sounds of his snoring paused, too, but returned to their normal rhythm and provided a reliable heartbeat to the sleeping home. Like the living room and kitchen, attempts at neatness clashed with reality in the master bedroom. Soon, an intricately engraved and pearl detailed dresser would be put together. For now, its clothes were in the box labeled ‘Little Human #2’ on the back and ‘Uzumaki Himawari (24-48 mos.)’ on the front. Soon, Boruto’s action figures wouldn’t be dancing on the windowsill, fighting in the closet, and drowning in the sink. Soon, Naruto would figure out his time management enough to sleep as well as he was tonight, every night.

For now, though, his biggest goals circled on sleeping in the bed, instead of in his office. Sleeping before the sun came up would be nice, too, but he couldn’t imagine being able to accomplish that part yet. To be honest, sleeping nightly seemed like a pipe dream thanks to all that Kami had put onto his plate recently.

He would never complain, but it takes a lot out of him to be a husband, raise two children, and maintain peace in one of the largest Hidden Villages in the Shinobi world. Kakashi-sensei’s choice to avoid having children–at all costs–made complete sense, but Naruto knew that his family and his blessings were priceless. If he could handle going to the literal moon and back to keep Earth on its axis, he could handle just short of 80,000 villagers, a household, and occasionally frequent sleep deprivation. Why?

Because this was his dream.

He had had his fair share of loneliness. Now was the time for him to be full…all day, everyday, every hour, and every minute of these days. 

A vague pinging feeling struck Naruto’s consciousness and woke him. 

_ Dammit _ . 

He was suddenly aware of the weight of Hinata’s head and the numbness of his arm underneath her body. Naruto crawled out of his slumber, and his eyes squinted into the darkness, irritated. What was that? He groaned and swiped his arm out and to freedom, looking around. Hinata’s subsequent readjustment distracted him, but thankfully, she did not seem to be stirred awake. When Naruto went back to searching for the source of the strange ping, it was gone. Weird. He rested against the headboard and tried, to no avail, to go back to sleep. Himawari’s breathing over the baby monitor was loud as canons. He groaned yet again, slapping both his hands on his face and dragging them downward. What kind of father was he, annoyed by the sound of his  _ breathing child _ ?

Naruto gave up on sleep at this point. While he was awake, he may as well contemplate what was left on his to-do list. He adjusted his pillow to provide his back more support and thought about what he had ahead of him now that he was officially the Nanadaime of the Hidden Leaf. The title still made him shiver, in a good and a bad way. It had been just short of two months since Kakashi had completely shifted trust into his student, but everything still felt uncalculatingly overwhelming to Naruto. Even knowing that he was Kakashi’s successor almost a year beforehand couldn’t prepare him for his new reality. Baa-san, Kakashi-sensei, and even Iruka-sensei had all told him to be more serious, to make more preparations, to maybe move in to the new house earlier and _ this and that and this and that _ . It was overwhelming then to think about doing, and it was overwhelming now. But, he had no other choice. 

Nothing else summed his stress up better than the, “This sucks,” Naruto grumpily muttered. He lugged his legs over the bed’s ledge and rose to stand, but crumbled shortly after, nearly falling had the nightstand not been close enough to grapple. Naruto cursed internally. He should be used to stepping on Boruto’s misplaced toys by now – this, clearly, was his fault; he should toughen up and not be hurt by legos, like a real grown up. Naruto moaned as he hobbled to the bathroom en suite. He closed the door softly behind him and sat on the toilet, crossing his leg and peering over to survey the damage. The light from the moon was enough for him to see that he would not be needing surgery any time soon, but it didn’t make dislodging the lego any easier. With a sharp inhale, he popped the square off and tossed it into the nearby trash.

He sighed and swung his head up to the ceiling. Adding  _ Tell Boruto for the nth time to clean up his toys _ to the to-do list was, apparently, imperative. As was touching base with Konohamaru. While he was thankful for the jonin’s swift thinking, missing his inauguration made transitioning a little bumpier than Naruto would have preferred. He didn’t really know this before – how could he have – but there were meetings and orientations after the public coronation that lasted the entire day. Everyone kept on referring to them, and it was getting impossible to play off his ignorance toward the logistic matters that obviously were covered at that time. Because he hadn’t filled him in on the meeting’s contents on his own, Naruto figured Konohamaru was less than pleased with having to cover for him in that way.

Just as the thought of funding an impromptu trip to Ichiraku crossed his mind, Naruto’s attention was sharply focused on the strange sense of urgency pinging within him once again. His eyebrows furrowed and he stood, walking toward the window. His eyes scanned the sky and surveyed each star carefully. His ears tuned, trying to hear anything of concern that may be worth further investigation. It seemed wise to  _ not _ ignore it, this time. He felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue when the feeling disappeared. Adrenaline began filling Naruto’s veins. This was unsettling, to say the least.

Ringing wind chimes brought Naruto out of the bedroom. He walked swiftly toward the home’s open windows and shut them, not noticing anything out of place along the way but feeling on edge nevertheless. He investigated both of his children’s rooms, where he tucked them in and double locked their doors before deeming them safe. Naruto stepped into the hallway and thought…the house was bigger than any one he’d ever lived in. Splitting up searching as well as surveillance amongst, say, five of him, would be wise. Naruto quietly conjured clones and whispered to them his concerns. Once all was communicated, Naruto took his spot in the living room, located near the front door, and sat on the couch. Naruto was reaching for his ramen bowl when he felt the energy intensely for the third time. He was finally able to identify it.

_ Sasuke _ . 

He was close. Closer than he had been in years.

Naruto’s first thought was to let the Hokage know; he stood in his living room and started toward the door. This was urgent; regardless of Sasuke’s intentions, whether he just happened to be passing nearby or actually approaching the village purposefully, his proximity being close enough for Naruto to sense was cause for concern. At this time of night, especially if they had no reason to be particularly alert, not even Konoha’s best ninjas could stop Sasuke from wreaking havoc if unprepared. While Naruto certainly hoped this wasn’t what Sasuke was doing, he had no proof that this could not be the Uchiha’s plan.

Naruto’s shoes were halfway on when his heart, already pacing faster, leaped into his throat. This, and all that it entailed, was his responsibility to handle.  _ He _ was the Hokage to let know. From the capture or the seizure or the trial or the several other, much worse outcomes…he – he didn’t know what to do. Or how to do. Or – why did  _ this, of all things,  _ have to be his first real trial as Hokage?

“Naruto-kun?”

Hinata stood at the bedroom door, the light from inside the room spilling out and framing her. She had felt that Naruto was no longer in bed and groggily woken up. When she noticed a shadow clone in the bedroom window waving back at her, she immediately shook off her sleep in worry. Seeing her husband on the way out of the house now, as stressed as he was, made her concern triple. “Is everything okay?” she asked. 

Naruto’s eyes danced and lip quivered. He stuttered a few times, obviously unsure of how to answer. Hinata waited patiently, non-judgmentally, before she stepped across the distance between them.

For each step she took, Naruto’s anxiety increased. He hoped he didn’t show it. He wanted to tell her everything, all of the time. This is who Hinata had been to him for the past decade. It was uncomfortable for him to not know what was okay to tell her, if it was okay to tell her anything at all. Hinata took her final step and cradled his face in her soft hand, and Naruto leaned into her. He wrapped her into an embrace, hands tightly squeezing her to him. 

This woman, the mother of his children and calmer of his storms, was his everything. She gave him two more everythings to love and to hold – gave him all that he ever wanted. And yet, Naruto thought as he pulled away slightly and met her gaze, he had to treat her like any other villager, because every villager needed his equal protection as Hokage. It would be unfair, biased, and, frankly, dangerous for him to be preferential when the threat being posed was as large as this. 

“Hinata, I–”

Hinata hushed him, “I trust you, Naruto. Whatever it is.”

He didn’t know he was still holding it, but the last remaining bits of tension fell from Naruto’s shoulders thanks to Hinata’s affirmation. It was exactly what he needed to hear to feel confident enough. A smile pulled at his cheeks, and he kissed his wife once, then twice more. He would never stop being surprised by her loving him the way she did. He didn’t deserve it, but he owed it to his family – the one in his house just as much as the 80,000 member large one outside of his front door – to make informed choices. Naruto turned slightly away and bent to finish putting on his shoe. 

“I’m going to Kakashi,” he told her. “I need his help.”

* * *

Kakashi was already awake when Naruto arrived at his door. He had been anticipating him for days now, but he never would have expected him to come so early in the morning. Kakashi opened his door before Naruto knocked – startling him frozen – because he had heard his heavy feet barrelling up the stairs to his place. They had more than a few things to talk about, and it was getting harder and harder to catch up with Naruto nowadays, for obvious reasons. Being the charismatic village hero and all would do that. 

The copy ninja lightly chuckled at Naruto’s shocked expression, waving him into his studio apartment. Although he had been appointed next Hokage, transitioning into miscellaneous pieces of the role, like new residence, had yet to be figured out. Kakashi didn’t mind – Tsunade, literally, could take all the time she needed to move out. She could not move out at all. It didn’t matter. These superfluous perks had no impact on Kakashi’s ability to lead, and too much needed to be done right away to rebuild the village that stalling seemed selfish. 

As busy as Kakashi’s schedule appeared looking from just barely on the inside, Naruto was impressed that Kakashi was as awake as he was. Anyone with a plate  _ half _ as heavy as Kakashi’s should have been counting sheep at this hour, in Naruto’s mind. Since he’d convinced Kakashi to let him shadow him, Naruto gained a new appreciation each day for just how deeply dedicated you had to be to be Hokage. It took a special kind of person to want to be a ninja; to go as far as to want to be a good Hokage, Naruto was learning, was beyond admirable. You had to be able to produce while exhausted, be brave when afraid, and perfectly balance cynicism with trust.

It was Kakashi’s consistent levels of suspicion that kept him from feeling particularly surprised when Naruto unfroze, giddily whispered the words, “Sasuke is back,” and barged his way into the apartment. He didn’t want to crush the happiness that his student, and now apparent intern, was feeling. Looking at how quickly he was talking, eyes bright as when he was twelve, whiskers on his face curving with his overly large grin, Kakashi instantly felt years younger. It was like the happiness parents felt when their children exclaimed about a present they had been hoping for all year for Christmas; you couldn’t possibly match their glee, because unlike them, you knew that it was in the gift pile all along. At the same time, you also still couldn’t help but feel your heart warm. 

Based on confidential reports that Kakashi had been receiving regarding the Uchiha over the past month, he knew that Sasuke’s ultimate arrival would only be a matter of time. So far, no Kages had reported any issues with Sasuke while on his path toward self-discovery and atonement. If anything, it seemed Sasuke was impressing the group with how well he was sticking to his word. He’d protected civilians and ninja alike regardless of what village they were from, and played a major role in saving the literal world not too long ago. Despite how much he wanted to, Kakashi couldn’t tell Naruto all of the details of just what Sasuke has been up to while he had been away from the village. So, he just cleared his throat and interrupted the blond’s rant, teasing, “I’m guessing you’re glad.”

Naruto stopped mid-sentence, immobilized, then flushed red. “Maybe a little,” he mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. His joy leaped again, moments later, “It’s just been so long! Last time he left…” The air stilled, both men knowing that summarizing all of the events of  _ last time _ would prove difficult in more ways than one. Naruto looked at his Hashirama arm – as he had taken to calling it lately, much to Kakashi’s chagrin – forlornly before finishing. “Well. Last time there was no way he was coming back without a fight. And now? Now is different!”

Kakashi shrugged and headed toward his kitchen. Peeking at his wall clock, he saw that it was 4:47 am – the perfect time for cereal. Naruto trailed behind him, excitedly explaining all the ways in which  _ now _ was different than  _ then.  _ Kakashi mildly humored him as he opened his refrigerator, searching for the milk. He fought the urge to roll his eyes when Naruto cut him off and grabbed the carton out of the fridge before him. In between gurgles, Naruto asked, “You’re not happy, Kaka-sensei?” 

Kakashi snatched the milk from Naruto and poured it into his cereal bowl. “It’s not that I’m not happy. I had a feeling he’d be back by now,” he admitted. “We came to an agreement,” he circled the spoon in his hand mid-air, vaguely implying the grander details of said agreement. “He understood the terms.”

Naruto’s brow furrowed. He was unsatisfied with this. 

Kakashi sighed, expanding while Naruto hung on his words. “Sasuke is a special case. Together, all the Kage and I made something that worked for us, and that he said would work for him, if we gave him the chance to prove it. So far, he has been.” He paused to eat a few more spoonfuls of cereal. “He can come and go as he pleases as far as I’m concerned at this point in time.”

Naruto continued to be unsatisfied with this. But, based on Kakashi’s evasiveness, he knew he wasn’t going to get any more information – at least not right now. There was more to Kakashi’s truths, obviously, but that information was too sensitive for Naruto to know at the moment. Nothing against him, but the jinkurichi had a tendency to form inappropriately strong opinions before fully grasping the details.

The sound of Kakashi’s spoon tapping an emptying bowl emphasized the silence filling the apartment for several moments. Naruto had lifted himself onto Kakashi’s kitchen counter and had begun thinking in the meantime. His sensei’s reaction was a little – a lot – more anti-climatic than he had anticipated. That was (not) fine. Fine. He could (not) handle this (yet). Sometimes he did overreact or act rashly. It was, perhaps, a bit childish to run out of his apartment as soon as he sensed Sasuke’s chakra signature for the first time in six months. When it theoretically could have been possible for Naruto to try to chase Sasuke down, he didn’t, and instead went to the Hokage. This seemed like a pretty evident example of growth to the late teen; if anything, he would have appreciated being more directly acknowledged for maturing a bit.

All of these facts floated in Naruto’s mind and refused to come together to form one cohesive conclusion that did not include high levels of excitement.

Like...come on! It was beyond validating for Naruto to have Sasuke come back. It means so much in the grand scheme. The difficult adjustments he faced while working with distrustful comrades? Worth it. Villagers giving him side eyes? Sakura straight up  _ ignoring his existence _ for days on end? These, and many other moments, all together had been overcome and now Sasuke was coming back when he had the absolute freedom to never, ever return. It seemed to Naruto that Sasuke, maybe, finally saw Konoha as a home again. And, maybe, just maybe, this meant he saw certain people in the village as worth coming home to, too. As family.

Naruto smiled softly, then slid off the counter. It didn’t matter anymore to him how little Kakashi had shared; the small amount was enough for Naruto to confirm that things were even closer to settling into a new, pleasant normal, than ever before. With the sun beginning to part the night sky, and the adrenaline he was feeling fading, Naruto figured that now would be a good time to go. Kakashi had given him  _ so _ much reading to not do, and it was very possible that he was very purposefully ignoring some grading he had from Academy. Kakashi noticed Naruto’s movements and put his bowl down. He cleared his throat. 

Naruto paused and lifted his brow, curious.

“Do you,” Kakashi hesitated, but continued, “do you want to scribe our meeting?”

“Yours and...?”

He might regret this later.

“Sasuke’s,” Kakashi winced.

Naruto exploded, fists pumping in the air. He might have said yes, and water might have been wet. Though he rolled his eyes, the Hokage smiled nevertheless. He had a hunch that, despite their pain, these antics were very likely worth getting through for the purposes of preparing Naruto for the impending future. Plus, they made him feel young. He chuckled, “Alright, alright. I’ll also need you to make sure the security unit are aware, and get Shikamaru, too. Meeting’ll probably be early, so don’t be late.”

“Of course!” Naruto cried tears of joy. He wouldn’t dream of it,  _ dattebayo _ !

* * *

Sakura would never stop being amazed by her son’s ability to scowl. Daichi sat on the hospital bed in her office and held an ice pack to his head, annoyed. He couldn’t believe a lot. 

First of all: why does he ever, ever, ever give Bunko the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her “trouble trips”? Almost every idea that girl came up with led him to shit. Literally and figuratively. If it wasn’t for Ichiraku, he wouldn’t have felt sick. If he didn’t feel sick, Jun wouldn’t have teased him. Then, their fight wouldn’t have happened. Without the fight, it was  _ way _ more likely for him to have been able to power through his nausea and make it to the Hokage towers for his meeting, instead of going to the flower shop. No flower shop? No Bunko’s house. 

See? Everything – Bunko’s fault. 

It all loops back to her.

So, naturally, when Sakura asked him again, “How did this happen?” Daichi had no other answer than, “I dunno.” 

He would think about why he didn’t just tattle on her then, later.

Sensing that she would be getting nowhere with him, Sakura turned her attention to the stranger that had had the insight to bring Daichi to her. If Sakura’s priorities were in any other place besides Daichi’s wellbeing, she would have been inclined to take notice of the fact that this stranger was yet another member of Ibiki’s interrogation team. That made two encounters in one day. “Can you tell me again where you found him?” she asked him.

He went on to explain that he had found Daichi with Hyuga Bunko, who had been escorted to Lee for debrief, skittering down hallways, stairs, and then finally tunnels leading to what he had no other choice than to assume were the restricted access police, torture, and interrogation areas of the village. At first, security wasn’t exactly concerned about the two. It wasn’t uncommon for Konoha youth to, for lack of better terms, find their way to privacy when they wanted it. Daichi’s ears reddened at this accusation and he avoided Sakura’s inquisitive glance, but he didn’t confirm nor did he deny any truth in that statement. The man continued, saying that guards began tracking the two more intently as their path’s intentions to the IU became obvious. How the teens had even learned the way to the area was unknown, but their ability to get as far as they did without detection was admittedly remarkable. 

Daichi’s scowl turned up into a self-satisfied smirk at this compliment, but Sakura’s tightening jaw flustered his expression flat. The former kunoichi kept her eyes trained on Daichi as she thanked the messenger, dismissing him. When he left, Sakura smacked her lips together and reached for Daichi’s head. “Let me see,” she murmured, already moving the ice pack. Daichi shifted his weight a bit, paper crinkling beneath him, as his mom poked and prodded at the small, forming bruise. He kind of felt the need to explain himself, but hadn’t worked out his story in a way that seemed convincing while also keeping him and Bunko out of trouble. 

Though he was peeved now, Daichi had a feeling that it wouldn’t take long for him to look back on the impromptu adventure Bunko had taken him on fondly. He almost wished that Jun was there so as to avoid the inevitable ‘Haruno! You suck! Just tell me next time when I’m third wheeling and invite me anyways, sheesh’ that would be coming when they filled Jun in on what happened. 

Bunko’s trouble this time was inspired by the gossip that Daichi had somehow managed to avoid hearing all day. Apparently, last night, “the biggest legend Konoha has ever defeated, ever” was captured and was currently being interrogated. The way Bunko described it, the traitor was the real deal – once upon a time, though, he was just like them: a fledgling teeny bopper genin working his way through benign missions to one day qualify for something real. When Daichi asked Bunko how she knew all of this, the girl squealed with glee and sang a song. She told him in more ways than one that it was top secret (everything was with Bunko) as she led him through her house and into TenTen’s bedroom. 

“I think my mom’s mission was to capture him, and she’s late because she’s dealing with it now,” she explained. She put on a pair of gloves before going to a dresser drawer. She was quiet as she flattened her palm on the wood; a light glowed from her hand, then the sound of disengaging tumblers clicked the drawer open. Blank parchment paper was inside. Daichi peered over her shoulder as she whispered a few incantations. Ink melted onto the pages, and too awestruck to remain cool, he gasped. Bunko smiled back at him, and moved to allow Daichi closer to read. “I know, right. I’m not sure if he’s, like, a danger threat  _ anymore _ ,” she emphasized, pointing out the skills reported on the scroll. “But look at all that it says in the background! How cool is Kaa-san to even have this?”

Daichi read the report, fascinated. What even  _ was _ Amaterasu?

“Okay,” he said. “How do you figure it’s a capture, though?”

Bunko’s lip pouted, and she pointed out all the coincidences between the details in the mission scrolls and the hearsay in the village. Plus, the timing of her mom’s meeting was kind of too convenient to ignore. Even if he wasn’t as skilled, handicapped, or currently inactive, anyone who was as capable as this nin seemed according to the most recent records should always be considered dangerous. Daichi considered his teammate’s perspective, but persisted, “I don’t know. Says here his last mission was S-Ranked…,” his finger danced above the page until he poked the signature stamp he was looking for, “and approved by the Rokudaime. Maybe he just finished it and needs back up for extraction services.” He shrugged, “You have to admit that it’s weird his name isn’t even on here. Maybe whatever he was doing was so risky that now that he’s done...”

“True.” Bunko twisted her face, “Hmm. Maybe.” 

She rolled up the scrolls and returned them to the drawer before finishing, “All I know is that I can bet money that he’s the one that everyone is talking about. And, I think I know wher

e we can find him.”

Fast forward to now, Daichi could admit that their planned was precariously underbaked. He thinks they might have gotten all the way to the high-security interrogation chambers had he not ran into a low-hanging water pipe, but he highly doubted he would get another chance to sneak a peek at the mysterious captive.

Sakura finished examining his injury and placed the ice back under his hand. She crouched slightly, her face filling Daichi’s vision as she locked eyes with him. He may have missed his own chance to see a real interrogation, but now was his time to be in one himself. 

The rosette’s eyes narrowed.

Daichi gulped.

“What were you doing there?”

Daichi stammered, “Nothing.”

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing!” he repeated. “We...we were just checking it out.”

“Why?”

_ Oh, my God.  _

Daichi, eyes wide as saucers, felt cornered. His face was so hot that the ice began melting, and a stream of water slid down his forehead. Sakura knew that whatever was getting ready to come out of his mouth would surely be a lie. She backed away and sat back in her chair. The child visibly relaxed. Not one to repeat herself, Sakura crossed her legs and gestured her hand out, suggesting that he come out with something good soon.

Daichi’s mouth was parting open when three knocks rapped at the door. Sakura interrupted Daichi’s prayers of gratitude and pointed at him, hissed, “We’re not finished,” and rose to answer the door. In the short time that it took for her to get to the door, ten more knocks insisted, impatient. Sakura opened it a crack and was surprised to see Shikamaru. She nodded at him in greeting and opened the door further, inviting him in. 

Shikamaru regarded Daichi with a wave, and the teen smiled back and waved his free hand excitedly. He greeted, “Konichiwa, Shikamaru-san. O genki desuka?”

Shikamaru smiled, “I’m well, I’m well. Arigato.” What a cute kid. He could only hope that Shikadai would be half as well-mannered when he was thirteen, but things were trending far short of that so far. 

“What’s up, Shikamaru?” Sakura asked, face scrunching. All these surprise visits were starting to add up and confuse her, especially in the wake of the fact that her meeting with Naruto – and Kakashi  _ and  _ Daichi, which was just now computing as strange to her – was impromptuly cancelled. Matter of fact – she side eyed a calendar on her wall, not seeing  _ any _ Doctor Ditch Days or holidays – it was weird that she didn’t have a single patient all day. She looked back at Shikamaru, who looked around her at Daichi. 

It all made sense now. Nothing is  _ ever _ coincidence. Sakura intercepted his field of vision and crossed her arms. 

A groan rumbled Shikamaru’s chest, and his temples ached. This whole cat-and-mouse, keep-everything-a-secret game was troublesome to him when it first started, and troublesome now that everything was coming to a head. Of course, no one listened to him and they all thought they could handle it. He met Sakura’s determined, almost threatening eyes, and chuckled.  _ Alright _ , he thought,  _ game over. _ He removed the unlit cigarette from his mouth and finally answered Sakura. “We need to tell him about Sasuke,” he said plainly. 

Sakura flinched, visibly caught off-guard.

She then choked out a laugh. “You’re so funny,” she gritted, grabbing Shikamaru by the shoulder and pushing him out the door. If Shikamaru was a weaker man, he would have crumbled. Sakura turned back to Daichi, who was very confused at this point, and told him to sit still, they would be back. He mumbled a soft, “Hai,” that was drowned out by the sound of the door slamming shut. A picture frame on the wall tilted, and contents at Sakura’s desk shook in response. Daichi watched the door for several moments, then took the ice off his head. He slid off the bed and scooted a flower vase, dangerously close to the desk’s edge, back to its original place. He looked uninterestedly at Sakura’s paperwork, but couldn’t help glancing multiple times at the door.

He bit his lip.

_ Sasuke?  _ Like, Uchiha?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Indeed, young Uchiha. *bows like Baby Yoda* 
> 
> Anyways, I feel like this is a good stopping point for now! Please let me know if you want to see this continued on here, and of course any other critiques/praises you may have. 
> 
> All the best,   
> Hot


End file.
